Re: Ultima I for IIGS

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Phoenyx <quazar@dcnet2000.com> wrote:

>We're at a unique point in the Apple II era. Not only are there
>many old timers returning to 'fool around' but we are getting a
>decent amount of new comers who only know about the II because of
>the remarkable reputation it had as a reliable computer. And
>surprisingly enough, there are still quite a few schools who rely
>on these systems daily. This durability far outclasses the PC
>which IMHO, would not have survived this long without the constant
>upgrading to it's capabilities.

Absolutely.  The IIGS was far ahead of its time.  Just look
at the Ensoniq chip it has.  Remember that this was before
the PC had its first SoundBlaster (the 4-voice version) while
the Ensoniq is a wavetable synthesis chip.

Because Apple killed the IIGS' marketing, not many
people knew about the true capabilities of the IIGS and
thought of it as a IIe with a TransWarp and two Super
Serial Cards built in.  More like an accelerated IIc with
slots than what it really was, a new computer with new
technology and a built in IIe emulation.

I really get it kick out of sending demo disks out to new
IIGS users because the responses I get bring back
memories.  These new users are often the old 8-bit IIe
and IIc folks who have come back to fool around only to
be shocked when they see their first FTA demo or
3200 color graphics slideshow disk or Ensoniq music.
Some of these folks had passed through an Amiga
stage on their way to the PC and they tell me that they
never knew the IIGS was more Amiga-like than like the
old 8-bit Apple IIs.

This is fun for me because it reminds me of the feeling
I got when I first started running native IIGS software
with a background as a IIe user.

Ironically, thanks to Apple's deliberate hushing of the
new capabilities of the IIGS, when Apple II old timers
come back and discover them for the first time, they
often follow the advice of going out and getting memory
and a hard drive for the machine just to see what they
missed more than a decade ago.

Imagine that.  How many '286 or Mac Plus computers
get the same treatment?  They were from the same
era you know.